Apple Reveals How Much It Helps Small Businesses

But today the company released a statement about its relationship
with American small businesses, prompted by Apple SVP of
Operations Jeff Williams, who attended a meeting with President
Obama after Apple adopted
the White House's SupplierPay initiative.

“Last year, Apple spent more than $3 billion with over 7,000
suppliers running small and diverse businesses, creating tens of
thousands of U.S. jobs,” said the company
in a statement obtained by TechCrunch.

SupplierPay requires Apple to pay its small business contractors
within 15 days. The initiative is based off of the QuickPay
program, which stipulates that the federal government pay
contractors within 15 days.

The thinking goes that speeding up payments to small
businesses will enable them to grow at a faster rate.

Apple is not the only large company to join the SupplierPay
initiative. AT&T, Salesforce, and Coca-Cola are among the 26
companies to agree to speed up contractor payments.